Travel Budget – Istanbul

The first stop on my RTW trip was somewhat impromptu. When researching flights to Nepal we found Turkish Airlines offered a stopover in Istanbul at no extra cost so thought why not.

As I had not originally planned to visit Istanbul it was imperative to keep costs down and happily I only spent £180 over the 7 days.Accommodation 330TL
Dorm bed in a 6 person dorm – 55TL per night.
This was the most significant expense equating for almost half the money I spent in Istanbul

Travel: 24TL
To and from the airport 8TL each way
Ferry to and from the Asian side of Istanbul 8TL return
Most of the Old City is walking distance and this helps keep costs down. We were staying near the Galata Tower and had no trouble walking over to the Blue Mosque and other areas.

In total I spent 740TL (£180) which worked out as around 106TL (£25.70) per day. It’s certainly easy to do it cheaper – for
example skip the boat ride and paid attractions. And again you can always spend more if you wish.

Overall I was happy to come in under a daily budget under £30 for a city (mostly) in Europe.